Category Archives: Learning
11 Apr Are You My Grammar?
Quest for a Formalism Many grammar formalisms have been proposed for use with computers. Many existing formalisms have been borrowed for computer applications. Currently, one of the most popular grammar theories among linguists is called Government and Binding (Chomsky, 1986). This theory has been used in some computerized language-analysis programs, but poor outcomes have demonstrated that it is […]
09 Apr Abstract Contexts and Fuzzy Reasoning
We do not yet know how we remember things, nor do we know how we use remembered things in reasoning. The amazing feedback loops of afferent and efferent fibers between different layers of the cortex give us some amazing clues (Hawkins 2004). Today’s discussion of abstract contexts and fuzzy reasoning is intended as a bridge […]
08 Apr Symmetrical Logic and Lineage
Symmetry may not immediately appear as a principle of logic or reason, but it should. In mathematics we learn the commutative and associative properties of addition and multiplication. These represent a mirror-like symmetry. Symmetry, or invariance against change, is a fundamental principle of physics and an underlying assumption driving some logical decisions. Causality, for example, […]
07 Apr A Good Excuse for Heuristic Logic
Dichotomous logic is useful for reasoning about form or the way things are. Function, or cause and effect, however, is fuzzier because observation may not be enough to exclude other processes that lead to the same result. Heuristic logic applies to function instead of form, prescribing actions based facts. Heuristics often operate at a relatively […]
05 Apr Knowing About Agents and Instruments
Cause and Effect Causal knowledge can be learned by experience, as described in our friend Yorrick’s early experiences with the source of good feelings (Section 4: Seeds of Knowledge). The process of learning from experience is empirical and very fuzzy, meaning it is difficult to describe or replicate the learning process artificially. Cause can also […]
01 Apr Generating and Qualifying Propositions
What are the limits of reasoning? Is it possible to reduce every cognitive activity (telling time, falling in love, inventing rockets…) to a set of premises and conclusions: propositions? LITTLE ANIMALS ARE FURRY is a very simple proposition. Can intelligence be defined by the complexity of the sequence of propositions we can balance in evaluating a situation? I […]
28 Mar Is Everything Black or White?
We have exercised our abstract ideas about that which is too big and chaotic for us to understand (everything), let’s take a glimpse at that which is so small and chaotic that we may never really figure it out: the workings of the mind. In the next few posts, we will examine different forms of logical […]
27 Mar Cognition and Emotion
I’m conflicted. I suspect you are too. “Since the time of the ancient Greeks, humans have found it compelling to segregate reason from passion, thinking from feeling, cognition from emotion. These contrasting aspects… have in fact often been viewed as waging an inner battle for control of the human psyche” (LeDoux, 1996, p. 24). In earlier […]
25 Mar Generalization and Inference
What do you do when you encounter something completely new, such as a new flavor. Can you identify that it is a flavor and that it resembles some flavors you’ve encountered before? If you knew about bridges from experience, but had never seen a drawbridge, or a lift bridge or a covered bridge, would you be able […]